Chimney insulation



Aug. 10, 1948. R. F. VAN ALSTYNE 2,446,729

CHIMNEY' INSULATION Filed Aug. 15, 194e INVENToR. ff.' l/A /v Msn/N5 ATTY- Patenied Aug. i0, i948 UNITED STATES FA'ENT SPEECH;

6 Claims.

My present invention relates tochirnn-ey construction and more particularly to the prevention of heat transfer `from the interior of the chimney to any surrounding structure. Among the objects cf this invention are the provision of means for the easy fabrication or chimneys or the type indicated; the provision of means for the introduction of outside cold air through the chimney wall for the purpose of cooling same; the provision of a, structure which can be easily, rapidly, and accurately built up into a completed structure; and such further objects, advantages, and capabilities as will hereafter appear and as are inherent in the construction disclosed herein. My invention further resides in the combination, construction, and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and, while I have shown therein what is now regarded as the preferred embodiment of this invention, I desire the same to be understood as illustrative only and not to be interpreted in a limited sense.

In the drawings annexed hereto and forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 represents a transverse section through a chimney constructed in accordance with my invention at a point anywhere between the base plate and the cap plate;

Fig. 2 represents a vertical section through the upper part of the chimney;

Fig, 3 represents a similar section through the lower portion of the chimney; and

Fig. 4. is a more or less diagrammatic section of a house showing the relation of the chimney housing te the body of the chimney.

Reference will new be made in greater detail to the annexed drawings for a more complete description of this invention. For supporting the chimney structure, a plurality oi hangers l are provided and these have arms 2 which extend out over and rest on the top of J'oists, not shown in the present drawings. These hangers l have arms 3 extending inwardly toward the interior part 'ofv 'the chimney, and on these arms 3f rests a plate fl'having a central opening 5 for the passage of the smoke flue which extends up inside of the chimney. Since the plate l is spaced from the flue, there is no rapid conduction of heat from the latter to the hangers l and from this to the jcists. On top of the plate Il rests a block of aggregate formed from vermiculite and cement. This block il extends inwardly into contact with the flue leading from the heating plant and serves as a heat insulator for preventing the transference oi heat from the flue to any adjacent woodwork. In the upper surface of this f) n bloc-l1:v isriorrned a channel 'l'whichextends around the central hole" of the block, concentrically therewith, this groove serving to connect theY channels 8 and @running-longitudinally through theV sleevel l), molded from the same materials as the- ?olock ii but in' slightlydi-iierent propor-y While I have specified vermiculite and,

tions'. cement as the materialsfrom whichthese unitsare fabricated, it will of course be understoodthat other. suitable materials may be used.v

in building the chimney, the units iii, having# their ends ground ofi smooth, arestacked-oneon top of anotvher'with the-channels or lducts Bland, El in alignment and their lower ends opening into` theg-ro'eveor channel l. When the chimney' is built up-te-the-des-ired height above the roof; the cap-or cover lll'is placed thereon; saidcap having a downwardly depending flange t2 around' its` periphery toprevent'rainf-frcmblowing in through the openings lf3-spaced around the upper edge of the housing lfivvhich may be made '3i-'plywood or other suitable material. At its'lower edge, this` housingy Iii, in an occupied room, rests upon the block; S and encloses, between the' housing and the chimney proper, a compartment i5 which veX-V tends through the entire occupied space, 4but preierably not through the attic. above the roof rests on al metal flashing which prevents water .from getting inside the house-at this point. Fig. 4v shows the insulating material omitted betweenv thereof and the Aattic licor. If this were used in arhouse of two or more stories, the insulation would extend throughout the entire occupied space.

The cap il is molded with -openingsi-and Il in its-under face to serve as air-carrying ducts,`

the openings lifi-'eonnecting the compartmentk l5 with the channels 9, while the openings Ilt con-l nectthe channels S-with the interior oi the chim-` ney, vas shown at i3. l-Ience, vas the products 'of combustion andthe heated air rise through the'.V

chimney, they aspirate air from the' ducts or openings -l l, causing it toenter through the openinasi3 and pass through the channels Hi, 9, l, and 3.

cooled and-passageofthe air through the channels 8 and 9 tends to keep the units l0 cooled off, keeping them cooler in the outer portions than the inner. The channels B are larger than the outer channels 9 because, as the air moves down through the channels S and up through the channels 8, it gradually becomes Warmer and expands and therefore needs larger channels in which t0 travel.

The housing l-.

Drawing this air in from the outside has a tendency to keep'fthe inside of the housing M- If there should be any tendency for soot to collect, this can be avoided by turning the openings Il in the opposite direction and venting them through the outer periphery of the cap or cover I l.

The units Ill from which this chimney is constructed are preferably made in different lengths for convenience in building. These units have a glazed lining 19, the insulating medium being molded about the same. Preferably the units are encased in a sheet metal casing or they are reinforced by means of an expanded metal tube into which the insulating medium, in a moist condition, is poured. In order to mold the units in the expanded metal, it is necessary to have the latter surrounded by a retainer of some sort, such as a sheet metal tubular member capable of being opened longitudinally along one or more lines to make possible the removal of the sleeve after the insulating material has hardened. The channels 8 and 9 may be molded in the units I0, if desired, but it is believed more economical to drill them through these units with a set of gang drills.

The longitudinal channels through the units I may be lined up in various ways but it is believed that the simplest way is to have one or more rods of a size to t moderately closely within the longitudinal channels through the units l0 and then pass such rod or rods down through the upper unit and into the lower unit, thus assuring substantially perfect alignment of the channels. Instead of providing the groove 1, the channels 8 and 8 gan be connected by diagonal grooves in the block VIt is of course understood that the specific description of structure set forth above may be departed from without departing from the spirit of this invention as disclosed in this specification and as dened in the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A chimney comprising a base block having an approximately circular groove formed in its upper surface, a plurality of units stacked thereon in longitudinal alignment, said units having channels in the interior thereof which are placed in alignment when the units are stacked, and a cap on top of the upper unit, said cap having openings formed in its under face to connect one series of the channels with the interior opening of the chimnev and another series of channels with the exterior air, the channels in the bottom unit opening into the groove in the base block.

2. A ventilated chimney having air channels extending longitudinally thereof within the material of the chimney, a supporting base for the body of the chimney, said base having at least one groove therein into which said channels open at their lower ends, and a cap at the upper end of the chimney covering the upper ends of the channels and provided with grooves furnishing communication between the channels and the surrounding air.

3. A chimney construction comprising a chimney body, a housing surrounding it and spaced 05 chimney body having substantially vertically extending ventilating channels opening at their lower ends into said hollow and some of them opening at their upper ends into the chimney cavity and the others opening at their upper ends into the space between the housing and the chimney body, and a cap covering the body and housing.

4. A chimney fabricated from heat insulating material and provided with Ventilating channels extending longitudinally thereof, a housing surrounding and spaced from the heat insulating material, a base block on which the body of the chimney rests, and a cap resting on the body of the chimney, said housing having channels admitting air from outside of the chimney to the space between the housing and the insulating material, there being lcommunication through the ventilating channels between the housing and the interior of the chimney.

5. A ventilated chimney having air channels extending longitudinally thereof within the material of the chimney, a supporting base for the bodyof the chimney, said base having at least one groove therein into which said channels open at their lower ends, and a cap at the upper end of the chimney covering the upper ends of the channels and provided with grooves furnishing communication between the channels and the surrounding air, said channels being arranged partly in the outer portion of the body of the chimney and partly in the inner portion thereof, the air circulating downwardly in the outer channels and upwardly in the inner channels and establishing a thermal differential between the inner and outer surfaces of the chimney body.

6. A ventilated chimney comprising a body of thermally insulating material having air channels extending longitudinally thereof within the material of the chimney, a supporting base for the body of the chimney, said base having at least one groove therein into which said channels open at their lower ends, and a cap at the upper end of the chimney covering the upper ends of the channels and provided with grooves furnishing communication between the channels and the surrounding air, said channels being arranged partly in the outer portion of the body of the chimney and partly in the inner portion thereof, the air circulating downwardly in the outer channels and upwardly in the inner channels and establishing a thermal differential between the inner and outer surfaces of the chimney body by reason of the thermal insulating quality of the material of the chimney body.

RICHARD F. VAN ALSTYNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,457,454 Patee June 5, 1923 2,140,773 Slayter Dec. 20, 1938 2,328,731 Lovely Sept. 7, 1943 

